Monday, December 30, 2013

As 2013 comes to a close, we want to say thank you for supporting our work at Toxic Free NC. You are the reason why we had such an amazing year. Thank you!

Here are some highlights from 2013:

We traveled throughout North Carolina to train child care providers to use less-toxic pest control, helping to protect hundreds of children from exposure to toxic chemicals.

We worked with our national and statewide partners to try and strengthen the Chemical Safety Improvement Act, bipartisan legislation that would reform the outdated Toxic Substances Control Act of 1979.

In the spring, Anna Jensen joined us as Community Organizer to lead our campaigns with migrant and seasonal farm workers.

This December, Fawn Pattison moved into a new role as Senior Advocate to strengthen our efforts in advocating for environmental health and justice.

And we welcomed Levy Schroeder, who as our new Executive Director, will lead the way for us to become an even stronger and more effective organization in 2014 and beyond.

When you make a gift, it will be put to work helping to grow Toxic Free NC and our Community Leadership Council, a group of leaders from across North Carolina who work together to reduce pesticide pollution and toxic chemicals at home in their communities across the state.

“Toxic Free NC connects me to new resources and new ways of thinking. Becoming part of the leadership at Toxic Free NC made me a stronger leader in my own community.”Reverend Bill Kearney, Warrenton NCToxic Free NC Community Leadership Council, 2010-2012Board of Directors, 2012-Present

Your gift of $25, $50, $100 - or whatever is meaningful to you - will be put to work supporting grassroots leaders like Bill. Help us keep fighting together to reduce pesticides and toxic chemicals in our environment, our food and our bodies.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Meet Jessica Burroughs. She's a mom, activist and supporter of Toxic Free NC. Here's her story about why she supports Toxic Free NC:

When my first son was a year old, I read a newspaper story about three Latina women, all migrant farmworkers, whose children were born with horrific deformities. All three women had been sprayed with pesticides while working on the fields during their pregnancies.Perhaps because the three children were around my son's age, and perhaps because of the nature of their deformities (one, for example, was born with neither arms nor legs), I couldn't get the story out of my head.When I learned of a group in NC fighting to stop the spraying of fields during working hours, I became an immediate advocate of Toxic Free NC. When I reached out to Toxic Free NC, staff inspired me to write a letter to the editor about this injustice.Since that time, Toxic Free NC has raised my awareness about how to protect my family, as much as possible, from toxic chemicals. They have empowered me to ask my children's preschool director to use a non-toxic, integrated pest management system to get rid of bugs. They have shown me how to make my own non-toxic household cleaners, and even invited me and one of my sons to join them in DC to urge Sens. Burr and Hagan to support the Safe Chemicals Act.

To meet our fundraising goal for this year, we need to raise $30,000 by December 31st. We want to raise $5,000 of that goal in the next week.

Your gift of $25, $50, $100 - or whatever is meaningful to you - will be put to work growing grassroots leaders like Jessica who will keep fighting to reduce pesticides and toxic chemicals in our environment, our food and our bodies.

Join Jessica and Toxic Free NC in fighting for a toxic-free future for us and our families. Donate today!

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Throughout this week, join us on Facebook and stay tuned here as we share stories about how you are making it possible for us to grow a more toxic-free future for us and our families. If you have a story to share, please leave a comment or send us an email - we'd love to hear it!

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

As the year comes to an end, we're reflecting on our accomplishments and making big plans for the future. Looking back on where we've been in 2013, we know that the main ingredient in our recipe for success is you.
Toxic Free NC is all about people power. From hands-on organic gardening workshops, citizen lobbying visits and developing leadership in front-line communities, we're making change through the hearts, minds and hands of incredible people like you.

We wouldn't be a strong organization without your support. And we need your support more than ever right now.

To meet our fundraising goal for this year, we need to raise $30,000 by December 31st. We want to raise $5,000 of that goal in the next week.

You can also learn about other growers who use sustainable and/or organic practices, such as What Fir Tree Farm in Boone and a host of others!

Nathaniel Maram of What Fir! Tree Farm

Margaret Vaughn has a strong interest in environmental health issues and, in particular, their relationship to the food that we grow, buy, and eat. She is excited to be back in her home state of North Carolina after completing a graduate degree in public health at New York University.

Monday, November 25, 2013

As we sit down to Thanksgiving dinner this week,
many of us will say a prayer of thanks for the hardworking people who harvest
our food. While we enjoy the harvest’s bounty, we also reflect on those who
work hard in the fields, facing many dangers and often not earning enough to
put food on the table themselves. That’s why Thanksgiving week is also
designated as International Food Workers Week.

This week a coalition of farmworker supporters is
launching a new campaign to keep farmworkers safe from one of the biggest
hazards they face on the job: exposure to toxic pesticides.

Check out ProtectFarmworkers.org and
add your name to the petition calling on the federal government to fix the
outdated pesticide rules that are failing to keep workers – and us – safe from
exposure on the job.

Farmworkers are some of the hardest working, yet
least protected, workers in our country. Many laws that protect almost every
other worker in the U.S. do not apply to farmworkers. There is one
set of standards, however, that is designed to help protect the health and
safety of farmworkers from pesticide exposure: the EPA’s Worker Protection Standard for
pesticides. Yet these standards are grossly inadequate for the men, women and
children who are on the frontlines of our food production system.

A
healthy, safe, and fair food system would benefit us all, protecting the health
and serving the economic needs of farmworkers, farmers, rural communities and
consumers. Shifting away from reliance on hazardous pesticides is a key step
toward this goal. But as long as harmful pesticides are in use, farmworkers
need better protections in the field.

Farmworkers
have one of the highest rates of chemical exposures among U.S. workers. They
are regularly exposed to pesticides throughout their workday in various ways,
from mixing or applying pesticides to planting, weeding, harvesting or
processing crops. In addition, farmworkers often live in or near treated
fields, and harmful pesticides can drift into their homes. Health impacts can include both acute poisonings and long-term,
chronic health effects such as various cancers, Parkinsons’ Disease, asthma,
birth defects and neurological harms, including developmental delays and
learning disabilities. Farmworkers’ children are
particularly at risk.

Current
regulations have failed to protect farmworkers and their families from
pesticide exposure and harms. California farmworker poisoning data illustrate
the extent of this nationwide problem, reporting hundreds of poisoning cases
each year. Hundreds more — possibly thousands — go unreported due to workers’
fear of job loss and/or retaliation. Further exacerbating the problem is the
fact that many states have weak or nonexistent systems for reporting poisoning
incidents.

After
more than a decade of broken promises and delays, EPA is now poised to
strengthen the rules protecting farmworkers; but the agency needs to do so now
and it needs to get it right. EPA must issue revisions to strengthen the Worker
Protection Standard before the end of the year. The new regulations should
include the following key improvements:

A minimum age of 18 to work with pesticides. Currently teens as young as 16 may work
mixing, loading and applying these highly toxic chemicals.

Better and more frequent training on health risks of pesticides.

Worker access to timely information about the use, location, and hazards of
specific pesticides on the farm where they work.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Being surrounded by the fresh atmosphere of the Raleigh Midtown Farmers Market gave me a well-needed rejuvenating burst of energy. The people, the products, and everything that goes into an active healthy community was present. I honestly loved every part of it!

Participating as an outreach volunteer at Toxic Free NC gives me a chance to enjoy what I love doing most: building relationships and educating people. Going in to my first outreach event at the Raleigh Midtown Farmers Market, I didn’t really know what to expect. I was very curious to see what this outreach would actually look like in action. But, when we arrived, I was immediately comforted by the calm, yet busy atmosphere of everyone trying to find their fresh veggies early in the morning. Everyone who was interested in Toxic Free NC who came to our table was super friendly and easy-going. I came up with the hypothesis that since these people are filled with fresh and/or organic foods in their bodies, their personalities are fresh and organic. You know what they say, “you are what you eat.”

Laura and Paul volunteering for Toxic Free NC

Educating and interacting with the individuals was my favorite part of the whole day. We joked, we laughed, and we educated with passion! I really feel that this outreach program is a truly effective way to get the word out to the community about reducing their exposure to toxic chemicals. The simplicity of this outreach was the best part! Giving out information,
starting conversations about toxic chemical exposure, and just sharing
personal experiences about environmental health was amazing. Also,
letting people make their own least-toxic household cleaner through our practical demonstration was some good educational entertainment for me. To add to this amazing experience, it was “Pie Day” at the Market. When I heard the news that 11 other tables in the farmers market made pies for people to sample, my day couldn’t have gotten better. I sampled, I voted, and I was satisfied by the unique flavors of each pie in my stomach.

My experience with this volunteer outreach event exceeded all my expectations in every way! The atmosphere, the people, the music, the kids, and our educational purpose all intertwined into a day of fresh fun. Also, having random, yet interesting, conversations with two awesome people from Toxic Free NC throughout the day was a big cherry on top!

Monday, November 11, 2013

Schroeder brings 10 years of experience in environmental justice and farmworker advocacy to Toxic Free NC

The Board of Directors for Toxic Free North Carolina has appointed Levy Schroeder as the organization’s full-time Executive Director, effective December 2, 2013.

Schroeder brings a wealth of experience to the organization in the fields of environmental justice, food equity and farmworker advocacy. She will lead Toxic Free NC’s efforts to educate North Carolinians about pesticide hazards and common-sense alternatives to toxic chemicals, to watchdog the government agencies that regulate pesticides and toxic chemicals, and to change the way our communities view and use pesticides and toxic chemicals, especially where people are at greatest risk from exposure.

“We’re so pleased to bring Levy on staff,” said Mindy Hiteshue, president of Toxic Free NC’s Board of Directors. “Levy will bring leadership and vision to our organization and will work to expand our programs and further fulfill our mission to reduce exposure to pesticides and toxic chemicals. Levy's years of experience working directly with farmworker communities and serving nonprofits at program, fundraising and leadership levels will be a great asset to our organization.”

Previously, Schroeder served as the Director of Health and Safety Programs at the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs (AFOP), where she led the organization’s efforts to bring farmworker health and safety programming to its membership agencies.

“I’m excited about joining such a dynamic, passionate team, and I am looking forward to leading advocacy efforts for alternatives to pesticides and toxic chemicals in North Carolina,” says Schroeder.

Fawn Pattison, Toxic Free NC's current Executive Director, will be moving into a new role as Senior Advocate this December. In her new position, Pattison will be focused entirely on advocating for common-sense alternatives to toxic chemicals that protect our health and environment.

Thursday, November 7, 2013

The Sustainable Furnishings Council and Toxic
Free NC have partnered to organize “real reform” for the use of safer chemicals
in North Carolina manufactured products. Business leaders across the state are
stepping up to seek federal change in outdated laws currently allowing tens of
thousands of toxic chemicals in furniture and other manufactured products.

Download our new white paper [PDF, 645 KB] to learn how NC Businesses are leading the market away from toxic chemicals, and seeking legislative reform.

In rebuilding and strengthening the U.S. economy, many businesses are calling for a new policy that limits the use of toxic chemicals, and prioritizes green products and engineering. Chemical safety legislation will support these efforts, and you can help by urging Congress to take action!

For the first time in decades, there is real opportunity to fix the problem at its source, and to rebuild our economy based on safer chemical regulations. Congress needs to pay attention, and take action by enacting legislation to address the issue of toxic chemicals. Real reform will have a positive impact on business and manufacturing in North Carolina, and will spur a healthier economy and a healthier environment.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Many families are making local and organic produce a priority these days, and almost everyone needs to increase the fresh foods in their diet. Locally grown produce is the freshest, so it contains more nutrients and it supports local farmers. Why organic? Organic foods are grown without synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified ingredients, synthetic food additives or processing agents, and are environmentally friendly. Research shows that kids who eat a mostly organic diet have much lower levels of potentially harmful pesticides in their bodies.

We interviewed Jan of Country Sunshine Children’s Center, and Shawna of Bright Horizons at Raleigh Corporate Center, both in Raleigh. Their commitment to children’s health is truly inspiring, and the methods they share are feasible and effective. From co-op programs with parents to growing fruits and vegetables in gardens, we hope other childcare centers can use these creative and helpful tips from the pros!

So, how can you get more fresh, local, and organic food onto your child care menu?

Here are 5 tips to get you started:1. Purchase fresh, local, and organic foods from the Farmers' Market, grocery stores, and food distributors, especially when the vegetables and fruits are in season.“Anytime we can, we get away from frozen or canned foods and incorporate fresh fruits and vegetables into our menu.” —Jan, Country Sunshine Children’s Center2. Child care centers can obtain reimbursements for nutritious meals from the Federal Food program.3. Start a Co-op Program. Country Sunshine uses a “Partnership with Parents” to bring in more fresh foods without driving up costs.How does it work?

3 times a week, children at the Country Sunshine Children’s Center are provided with fresh, healthy fruit and vegetable snacks from parents.

Parents are asked to provide fresh produce for one classroom (about 10-20 kids/class) only once per month.

Each classroom’s parents are designated a specified amount of a particular fruit or veggie snack for every month. For example, parents may be asked to bring watermelon, apples, lettuce or carrots for the class.

4. Plant a garden at your childcare center. Children enjoy growing their own fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers to have fun and learn, grow their own snacks, and provide treats for their families to taste.How does it work?

Seeds are both provided by parents and bought from stores. Children can determine the types of seeds they want to plant.How can we start doing this?

Children can start growing seeds from containers to study them and observe how they grow. Some centers choose to hire a landscaper to build the garden space. This can also be done by parent volunteers if there is a plan for the garden.

Use plants that are easy to grow from seeds: Sunflowers, basil, cherry tomatoes, pumpkins, carrots, and lettuce.

The garden is a “learning experience, where children learn to take care of living things and have buy-in to the food they eat.” —Shawna, Bright Horizons at the Raleigh Corporate Center.5. Educate staff, teachers, and parents about your work to provide healthy, organic food to their kids! Both Bright Horizons and Country Sunshine use a regular email newsletter to keep parents updated about menus, volunteer opportunities, and gardening (along with all the other important news from their centers).

You can publish announcements and seek parent support through your child care center newsletter, at parent meetings, etc.

Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Shawna of Bright Horizons at the Raleigh Corporate Center and Jan of Country Sunshine Children’s Center for allowing us to share the great information they provided for this article!Jennifer Li is passionate about advocating for improved health in communities. After interning at the Museum of Life and Science last summer to promote healthy living, she was excited to build on her experience to make a difference in improving environmental health with Toxic Free NC.

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Did you find this article helpful? Approximately once a month, Toxic Free NC volunteers or staff write a newsletter-ready article, focusing on children's environmental health, that we send to child care centers across North Carolina.

These articles contain helpful tips on ways child care centers, staff, and the children's parents can reduce kids' exposures to toxic chemicals and pesticides...we also think they're great for using in your home, too! We hope you find the article useful and feel free to share.

If you would like any of the past articles, please email Lynne Walter for copies or to be added to our Child Care News list. Examples of past articles include:
• Having Fun in the Sun: Avoiding Sunburn, Skin Cancer, and Toxic Chemicals, too
• Toxic-Free Gardening with Kids: 5 Tips for Gardeners at Home, School, & Child Care on Getting Rid of Bugs Safely
• Round Up Your Weeds Without Toxic Chemicals!
• Get Pesticides Out of Your Kids' Classrooms: It's Easier than You Think!
• Mosquito Management in Child Care

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Text and Photo, Copyright 2013 by Toxic Free NC. NC Child Care centers have permission to use text and photo for educational purposes with their parents and staff, provided full credit is given to Toxic Free NC.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

It all started with a void in fresh produce. The local meals-on-wheels program in Charlotte, Friendship Trays, had always relied in part on farmers donating fresh produce, but it wasn't enough. Friendship Gardens was created to fill the void by connecting local backyard gardeners with Friendship Trays.

Kathy Metzo, Friendship Gardens' Development Director, explained that Friendship Trays used to rely on "donations from grocery stores, frozen vegetables, and fresh vegetables from out of state".

The small garden they started out with did not come close to providing 750 meals a day, so they branched out and began adopting community gardens. "Our goal was 16 gardens, but we had 36 gardens in 2 years, and now we have at least 55 gardens," Kathy said. Some adopted gardens were already in existence, and some were assisted by Friendship Gardens from the ground up.

Friendship Gardens supports volunteers in their backyard gardening program every step of the way. From providing free seeds, food safety and garden training to providing a space for friendship and sharing information, participating gardeners have the tools to succeed.

The large garden network enables support and resource sharing among gardens. Potluck meals allow volunteers and gardeners to connect with each other in an informal setting. According to Kathy Metzo, structured workshops give novices a baseline, and those who garden by trial and error learn the science behind gardening.

Even though Friendship Gardens is based on giving, its success is likely due in part to recognizing that gardeners must enjoy their own harvest. Their Homegrown program improves food access for residents of Habitat for Humanity homes by setting up small residential gardens. They use hearty plants for the new gardeners. This way, participants quickly see the fruits of their labor so they will continue gardening.

The same principle is applied to the backyard gardeners. Friendship Gardens encourages garden volunteers to keep some of the harvest themselves in addition to donating a portion of it to Friendship Trays.

As Kathy Metzo puts it, "Last summer I sautéed some vegetables [from her own garden] in a pan: tomato, okra, and zucchini, with a little olive oil, and sprinkled on some mozzarella. It's simple. You feel like no matter what you grow, how awful a gardener you are, no matter how awful your harvest is, you're still feeding yourself. Even if you just have two okras, one tomato and a zucchini half eaten by worms, you can put half of the zucchini in the compost and eat the other half."

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Friendship Gardens was a nominee in Toxic Free NC's 1st annual Save a Bee Beehive Giveaway in 2012. With support from The Burt's Bees Greater Good Foundation, we award a beehive and organic gardening support to a NC community garden working on food access issues in our state.

By encouraging organic gardening and promoting pollinator protection we hope to make it possible for community gardens in NC to grow even more healthy, pesticide-free food for their communities.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

A HUGE congratulations to NC FIELD and the youth members of NC FIELD for receiving the 2013 Florenza Moore Grant Community Environmental Justice Award! This award, presented by the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network at their annual summit, highlights community groups and individuals who have made a difference in environmental struggles in North Carolina.

Neftali, José, members of the Grant family, and State Senator Angela Bryant

NC FIELD is an amazing grassroots nonprofit in eastern North Carolina that works on the many environmental injustices, especially pesticide exposure, faced by one of the most vulnerable populations in the U.S.: farmworker youth. The youth involved with NC FIELD are trained through a multi-generational approach to teach them to advocate for themselves, as well as for other farmworkers. NC FIELD also works with farmworker youth to promote leadership development, provide opportunities for hands-on learning, and reinforce the importance of education.

José, Neftali, and NCEJN Executive Director Gary Grant

Toxic Free NC is fortunate enough to have worked with NC FIELD and their emerging youth leaders, like Neftali and José, on a variety of projects and campaigns. One of these projects was collaborating on a short documentary about youth in the fields, entitled "Overworked and Under Spray."

Monday, October 7, 2013

This October, Toxic Free NC is focusing on our friends, the pollinators. Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard that domestic honeybee populations have plummeted in recent years. Farmers in North Carolina and across the US face a dramatic shortage of hives to pollinate their crops. Nearly half the managed beehives in NC have been lost since the mid-1980’s.

But did you know that wild pollinators are even worse off? While their populations are hard to track, biologists estimate that wild pollinators have suffered a 95% population decline in NC in the same time period. New research shows that wild pollinators are even more important to our food supply than domesticated bees. A recent study looking at 40 different crops across the globe showed that wild pollinators are twice as effective as honeybees in their pollination efforts. This is in part due to the variety of pollination techniques used by wild pollinators, as well as a tendency to cross-pollinate (honeybees usually pollinate within a single plant).

We must act now to stop the pollinator collapse, or we will be very hungry people before long. We're already seeing the effects of fewer pollinators on the planet. Yields in crops that do not require pollination are growing at a much faster rate than those that do, and more and more farmers are finding it necessary to rent hives from around the country to ensure the success of their crops. Among crops requiring pollination are some of our favorite foods: cucumbers, almonds, blueberries, watermelon, apples, strawberries, melons and peaches all require pollination. If we fail to address the causes of these losses, we may soon have to give up many of the foods we love.

But having many factors involved is no excuse to sit back and let a disaster happen. We must act now to fix what we can! The overuse of pesticides is a huge contributor to these declines. Pesticides kill beneficial insects and pollinators like bees and butterflies that are necessary to provide a healthy ecosystem where we can thrive. Pollination is required for three-quarters of global food crops, and one of the things we can do right now to conserve these essential pollinators is to use fewer pesticides.

The US Department of Agriculture, and our state Commissioner of Agriculture should be acting fast to promote farm technology that protects pollinators: More organic farming, more Integrated Pest Management, ending the use of pesticides most highly toxic to bees, and creating incentives for farmers to diversify crops and provide more pollinator habitat. The pollinator collapse is a man-made disaster, and one that we can stop if we choose to. Let's choose wisely.

Friday, September 27, 2013

By Kate Watkins, former volunteerNobody likes pests, and nobody likes being exposed to toxic pesticides. So how do we prevent pests and keep ourselves safe? Integrated Pest Management (IPM)!

If you haven’t heard much about Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, don’t worry! IPM is an easy and toxic-free approach to pest control that dramatically reduces chemical pollution by emphasizing prevention through sanitation, maintenance, and monitoring of pest prone areas in schools, child care centers, and even in the home. IPM costs less than many conventional pest control programs, and is often more effective than

Safer, least-toxic ingredients you can use to prevent pests!

spraying toxic pesticides. To utilize IPM, child care center staff, directors, and parents need to be educated on how they can participate. Monitoring of the grounds must be done frequently to catch potential pest problems before they begin, and preventative actions must be taken, including proper sanitation, proper waste disposal, structural maintenance, and good soil health. These steps can be as simple as installing weather stripping and door sweeps to prevent pests from entering your child care center and home; putting cereal and sugar in airtight, glass or plastic containers; repairing leaky pipes; and making sure all garbage cans lock securely.If pest problems do break out despite these measures, the least-toxic and lowest-risk pesticides should be used to eliminate the problem, such as baits and traps. In these cases, parents must be notified about the pesticides being used and records of pest activity and management must be kept to comply with regulations and to integrate IPM into the responsibilities of current and future staff. Using these steps can help spread awareness about toxic pesticides and may greatly reduce their usage.Integrated Pest Management is also something we can each practice in our homes, as well—feel free to use these steps and information in your house and share with friends and family!To help people implement IPM, Toxic Free North Carolina offers free training to child care centers, for which attendees receive four contact hours from the NC Division of Child Development and Early Education...also for free! If you are interested in hosting an IPM training for your staff, please contact Lynne Walter at Toxic Free NC at (919) 833-1123 or lynne@toxicfreenc.org.Kate Watkins is a student, nanny, dancer, and she was a volunteer for Toxic Free NC.

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Did you find this article helpful? Approximately once a month, Toxic Free NC volunteers or staff write a newsletter-ready article, focusing on children's environmental health, that we send to child care centers across North Carolina. These articles contain helpful tips on ways child care centers, staff, and the children's parents can reduce kids' exposures to toxic chemicals and pesticides...we also think they're great for using in your home, too! We hope you find the article useful and feel free to share. If you would like any of the past articles, please email Lynne Walter for copies or to be added to our Child Care News list. Examples of past articles include:

Having Fun in the Sun: Avoiding Sunburn, Skin Cancer, and Toxic Chemicals, too

Get Pesticides Out of Your Kids' Classrooms: It's Easier than You Think!

Mosquito Management in Child Care

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Text and photo, Copyright 2013 by Toxic Free NC. NC Child Care centers have permission to use text and photo for educational purposes with their parents and staff, provided full credit is given to Toxic Free NC.

Friday, September 20, 2013

I've been thinking a lot this summer about how change is made, and I keep coming back, in various ways, to the centrality of relationship building.

This year, we made a conscious choice to narrow the scope of our farmworker outreach in order to focus on building deeper, more meaningful relationships with farmworkers. Instead of presenting information about pesticide protections to as many workers as possible, we decided to return to the same three camps at least twice a month during May through August, with the goal of having repeated conversations with workers about their experiences, needs, and ideas for the future. We wanted to support workers not only in their quest for better protections from pesticides at work, but also in other aspects of their lives so that they felt they had what they needed to advocate for themselves.

As we have done in previous years, we brought seedlings and supported farmworkers in organic gardening. We arranged for someone to cook dinner for the largest camp three times over the course of the season, and we sat down and ate dinner with 25 farmworkers, and we listened. By listening, we learned more about workers' food traditions, their knowledge and work backgrounds, and what motivated them to fight for safer work places, or what prevented them from protecting themselves or speaking up.

We distributed over 80 tomato, cucumber and pepper seedlings to 3 camps, increasing access to pesticide-free food for more than 50 farmworkers during the agricultural season this year. The chile peppers in the largest camp did especially well, and one farmworker there said that "one of them is worth ten of the ones we buy at the store." We also conducted hands-on gardening workshops in each camp several times during the season, identifying problem bugs and what to do about each one without using pesticides, as well as finding good bugs to leave alone. Each of those workshops facilitated deeper conversations about the harms that pesticides can cause and the importance of protecting themselves and fighting for alternatives. The workers ended the season with knowledge they can use next year, and pass on to other farmworkers if they don't come back to our area again. Most of the farmworkers we talked to, however, plan to be back in the same place next season, and we ended the season with stronger relationships with those farmworkers that Toxic Free NC can build on next year. We are building a network of farmworkers ready to engage in advocacy, or serve as resources to their friends and coworkers about their work rights and about organic gardening.

Some of these workers will participate in focus groups on pesticides and reproductive health with us before they leave, providing us with information we can use to educate more workers next year. And we will rely on the relationships we have built this year to help spread the word, educate others, refine our work, and involve more farmworkers next year. As the harvest season ends here, I am grateful to all of the farmworkers who welcomed our visits, took time to talk with us, and gave us feedback to improve our work after completing their own long, difficult workdays.

Friday, August 9, 2013

Everyone
likes the look of a tidy flowerbed, surrounded by golf-green grass and
pristine sidewalks. When crabgrass and dandelions sneak in, it’s
tempting to nuke them with herbicides like Roundup. But every time you
spray weeds, the chemicals you leave behind wind up on the bottoms of
our shoes as we walk by, and come right inside with us. Indoors, there
is no rain and wind to break down herbicides. They stick to the carpet
and to house dust, where we are exposed to them over and over
again—especially little ones who spend lots of time on the floor and
putting things in their mouths!

Weeds are a pain because they
compete with the plants you’re trying to grow. They can also make your
garden look untidy! Getting rid of weeds makes the garden look better,
but it should be done without the use of harmful pesticides.

Corn
gluten meal (sold under brand names like BioWeed). This adds nitrogen
to the soil but prevents new growth. So, make sure you add it after your good plants are growing, and before the weeds come in!

Step 2: When weeds attack…

Pull!

Pulling
up weeds is a time-honored tradition, and a great job for kids. Pull
out the whole weed - if the root systems are left intact, the weeds will
come back.

Heat/Boil

When pulling isn’t enough, pour boiling water onto weeds.

Excess heat causes plant cells to rupture. But this can hurt your good plants, too, so be careful where you pour!

Vinegar

Vinegar also kills both good and bad plants, so be careful.

Toxic Free NC has a recipe for vinegar-based weed-killer that you can find here.

Keep these tips in mind as you plant, and keep your gardens free of weeds and nasty chemicals!

Joey
Shea is a volunteer intern at Toxic Free NC, and is very excited to be
working with a group so dedicated to the health of the planet and its
communities.

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Did you find this article helpful? Approximately once a month, Toxic Free NC volunteers
or staff write a newsletter-ready article, focusing on children's
environmental health, that we send to child care centers across North
Carolina.

These articles contain helpful tips on ways child care centers, staff,
and the children's parents can reduce kids' exposures to toxic chemicals
and pesticides...we also think they're great for using in your home,
too! We hope you find the article useful and feel free to share.

If you would like any of the past articles, please email Lynne Walter for copies or to be added to our Child Care News list. Examples of past articles include:

Having Fun in the Sun: Avoiding Sunburn, Skin Cancer, and Toxic Chemicals, too

Text, Copyright 2013 by Toxic Free
NC. NC Child Care centers have permission to use text and photo for
educational purposes with their parents and staff, provided full credit
is given to Toxic Free NC.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

My name is Mervin Davis, and I hail from the beautiful archipelago of the Bahamas. I am a graduate student at Shaw University in Education. One may ask, What attracted you to Toxic Free NC? Well, having been a Health Officer for a number of years, I developed a consciousness for the protection of the environment and those who live in it.

During the preparation for summer break I decided that I would not take a trip home to my wonderful country, but instead would seek an internship here in Raleigh. I was delighted when I saw a post at Shaw’s Career Center advertising Toxic Free NC’s need for a Community Leadership Council intern. I eagerly started my research on the organization, which described itself as a mover and shaker for social justice in North Carolina. Having always been driven by a desire to campaign for a healthy environment and the creation of healthy food systems, I determined this was a fantastic opportunity.

I consider the environment my first love, which was developed through thirteen years of professional service with the Department of Environmental Health of the Bahamas. During this time I petitioned to have not just political and governmental entities determine best practices, but to have truly concerned citizens join the movement to create proposals for best health practices. I found this at Toxic Free NC.

During this summer internship I looked forward to my days at Toxic Free NC. Eager to assume all duties as outlined in my work plan, I knew that every time I completed a task it was supporting those at the forefront of the fight for health justice: the members of Toxic Free NC’s Community Leadership Council. I have developed a great respect for every CLC member – they work tirelessly to promote best health practices for their communities.

The Community Leadership Council is a group of exemplary and upstanding individuals throughout North Carolina who campaign in different ways for healthy food, water and pesticide-free environments in their communities. CLC members all give of their time, talent and energy in spite of busy schedules, family and miscellaneous duties for a cost that counts: food and health justice. One member I have gotten to know well is Connie Schultz, who works with NC Community Garden Partners, among other organizations. Connie has been exceptionally friendly and always eager to be of assistance to me. Connie has a strong desire to educate and share relevant information, and thanks to her I learned about the Endocrine Disruption Exchange. Thanks Connie for being such an ambassador for health justice.

I am exceptionally grateful that I was given the opportunity to be a part of the movement that unselfishly educates and empowers the community for health justice with no ulterior motives. Toxic Free NC in her quiet yet strong stance acts as a watchdog; and exclaims to all systems that affect the environmental health of those in North Carolina, “You are accountable and someone’s watching!”

Special thanks for the donors who made this internship possible; it won’t be forgotten. To Toxic Free NC’s staff members, “you guys make it easy to fit in.” Last but not least the Community Leadership Council, thank you for allowing me to serve you.

P.S.

Toxic Free NC's Community Leadership Council is taking applications for new members through August 13th! If you're a local leader for Food Justice, please apply!

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Ants are an important part of the natural environment. They
feed on pests like fleas, flies, and termites, and their tunneling helps
aerate the soil and recycle organic matter. However, ants can also be
common household pests, and dealing with them can be a headache. The
key to avoiding these pests is to understand your options. Fortunately,
there are many toxic-free and environmentally friendly methods that can
be used to stop an ant problem! These non-toxic methods are safer and
are effective for longer periods of time.

Ants want to get in our homes and child care centers in order
to find food. Follow these three important steps to keep ants out:
1. Remove food.* Useant-proof glass or plastic containers with tight-fitting lids
to store food (including pet food). Glass jars should have a rubber
gasket or seal. Ants can climb up the threads of screw-top jars! Dry
goods like flour, rice, and sugar can also be stored in containers in
the refrigerator or freezer.* Clean up daily, especially kitchen floors, cabinets, and underneath appliances.* Ant-proof your trash. Make sure the food waste in
your garbage can doesn’t stick around—Clean it out! Rinse out empty food
containers before you throw them away or recycle them. Don’t leave
food scraps in the garbage overnight. Take out the trash often.

2. Remove entryways. Seal up cracks and
crevices that give ants a way in to your child care centers and homes.
Use caulk to seal the cracks between walls and floors, around windows
and doorframes, and around cupboards and bathroom fixtures. You might
also install door sweeps and weather stripping to prevent ants from
slipping in under the doors.

3. Remove outdoor ant hiding places.
Avoid attracting carpenter ants by removing any piles of wood from
under or around your home. Diseased plants, tree prunings, fallen fruit,
and fallen leaves can also make great hiding places for ants!

So, you’ve done all you can to keep the ants out. But, what do
you do when you’ve got ants in your home and need to control them? The
first step is to locate their nest and their path from their nest to
their food source, since ants follow a regular trail. The last step to
deal with these ants involves either killing or repelling them, and
several non-toxic methods to do so are included below. Make sure you
keep up the ant prevention steps described above! Even if ants are
repelled, they may find another path to their food source. Even if ants
are exterminated, another ant colony may show up and discover the food
source later.

Getting Rid of Ants
1. Soapy water. Drown ants marching through
your home by wiping them up with a sponge and dunking them in soapy
water. Also, wipe up the trail they leave behind—that way, their
buddies won’t be able to find their way inside again.
2. Pet food barrier. Ants cannot cross soapy
water. You can create a barrier by putting your pet’s food dish in the
middle of a pan of soapy water.
3. Borax ant-bait. Borax is a low-toxicity
laundry powder that kills ants. Borax does not vaporize into gas, so it
is safer to handle than many household pesticide products.Recipe for Ant Bait
* 3 cups of water
* 1 cup of sugar
* 4 teaspoons of Borax

Mix ingredients and divide the mixture between 3–6 screw-top
glass jars. Loosely pack the jars halfway with cotton balls or other
cotton stuffing. Screw the lids on tightly and seal with tape. Then,
poke a few holes in the top of the jars, and place them near points of
ant entry and along their trails. Mark the jars clearly as ANT BAIT and
be sure to put them where pets and children cannot reach them.

If you work with large amounts of Borax, inhaling the powder
can be irritating—wearing a mask is helpful! As with all potentially
hazardous materials, store Borax and boric acid out of the reach of
children and pets.

4. Conserve outdoor ant nests. While ants are a
pest when they come inside, they are important allies in your garden.
Native ant colonies eat lots of pest species like fleas and termites
and aerate the soil. Did you know that they also fight off fire ants?
Keep the outdoor ants happy by leaving their nests undisturbed.

If you have fire ant mounds, be very careful! Fire ants
are notorious for their bites and stings. Keep a lookout for their
mounds, which look like hills of loosened soil. Marking them with flags
or sticks will help others from accidentally disturbing them. When
dealing with fire ants, BE CAREFUL and wear shoes and socks rolled over long pants.

Inside your house, ants are annoying little pests. If you
follow the steps above, you’ll be able to keep them where they belong—doing their important work in the great outdoors!

Jennifer Li is passionate about advocating for improved health
in communities. After interning at the Museum of Life and Science last
summer to promote healthy living, she is excited to build on her
experience to make a difference in improving environmental health with
Toxic Free NC.

-------

Did you find this article helpful? Approximately once a month, Toxic Free NC volunteers
or staff write a newsletter-ready article, focusing on children's
environmental health, that we send to child care centers across North
Carolina.

These articles contain helpful tips on ways child care centers, staff,
and the children's parents can reduce kids' exposures to toxic chemicals
and pesticides...we also think they're great for using in your home, too! We hope you find the article useful and feel free to share.

If you would like any of the past articles, please email Lynne Walter for copies or to be added to our Child Care News list. Examples of past articles include:

Having Fun in the Sun: Avoiding Sunburn, Skin Cancer, and Toxic Chemicals, too

Text Copyright 2013 by Toxic Free NC. NC Child Care
centers have permission to use text for educational purposes
with their parents and staff, provided full credit is given to Toxic
Free NC www.toxicfreenc.org

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

After twelve wonderful years as Executive Director here at Toxic Free NC, I will be stepping down at the end of 2013.

This is a big transition for us! But I am delighted to share with you that I will not be leaving the work, or Toxic Free NC. The Board of Directors has graciously created a new staff role for me focused entirely on advocacy for environmental health and justice.

More than ever, I feel a tremendous urgency around the need for toxic chemical reform. Our scientific understanding of how pesticides and other toxic chemicals affect our health and development is staggering. The gap between that science, and our food and chemicals policy in the US, and here in NC, is unacceptable. Children with cancer is unacceptable. Polluted food and water – polluted breastmilk! – are simply unacceptable. These aren’t fringe beliefs. People from across the political spectrum are demanding safer products, and public policy that supports our health and safety. Our moment is now!

As a working mother with two small children, I also feel more acutely than ever the limits to my energy. As Toxic Free NC has grown, we need a Director who can focus on building and managing this dynamic organization. I am thrilled for the chance to return to my first love (well, my first professional love): Winning our advocacy campaigns.

I very much look forward to working with a new Executive Director who will bring fresh energy and approaches to leadership. I am also grateful to all of you for making Toxic Free NC such a rewarding organization of which to be a part.

Thank you for supporting us, and for sticking with us as we bring on new leadership. Together we are building a stronger future for our health and environment in North Carolina.

Friday, June 21, 2013

Did you know that some children’s nap mats contain harmful
chemicals? New studies show that chemicals meant to keep foam mats from
catching fire may be harmful to children’s health. These chemicals
have been linked to obesity, hormone disruption, infertility, and even
cancer (1).

Flame retardant chemicals get into the air and can be inhaled
by young children sleeping on the mats. And, even though these chemicals
are used to lower the risk of fires, a recent study found that treating
foam mats with these chemicals does not increase fire safety(2). So,
not only are these chemicals harmful for kids, they don’t even do their
job!

The studies that found flame retardant chemicals in nap mats
have been done on products from major retailers like Target, Wal-Mart,
and Babies ‘R Us. Safer options for mats include cotton or wool mats
instead of foam. Also, be sure to wash your hands and your child’s
hands often. Hand-washing is of course the best way to get rid of germs,
and will also help lower your child’s contact with harmful chemicals.

This story from The San Francisco Chronicle
has a list of mats with the harmful chemicals mentioned, so you can
check if the nap mat you own or the ones at your day care center are on
that list.

Are you concerned about how often we hear about toxic chemicals
in kids’ products? There are several legislative initiatives in North
Carolina and the US Congress aimed at getting the worst toxic hazards
out of kids’ products. Check out ToxicFreeNC.org to learn more!

Joey Shea is a volunteer intern at Toxic Free NC, and is very excited to be working with a group so dedicated to the health of the planet and its communities.

Did you find this article helpful? Approximately once a month, Toxic Free NC volunteers or staff write a newsletter-ready article, focusing on children's environmental health, that we send to child care centers across North Carolina.
These articles contain helpful tips on ways child care centers, staff, and the children's parents can reduce kids' exposures to toxic chemicals and pesticides...we also think they're helpful for use in your own home, too! We hope you find the following article regarding concerns about chemicals in popular nap mats useful, and feel free to share.

If you would like any of the past articles, please email Lynne Walter for copies or to be added to our Child Care News list. Examples include:

Having Fun in the Sun: Avoiding Sunburn, Skin Cancer, and Toxic Chemicals, too

Insect Repellent and Kid Safety

Get Pesticides Out of Your Kids' Classrooms: It's Easier than You Think!

Text Copyright 2013 by Toxic Free NC. NC Child Care
centers have permission to use text for educational purposes
with their parents and staff, provided full credit is given to Toxic
Free NC www.toxicfreenc.org

Friday, June 14, 2013

The NC House of
Representatives has passed a budget that eliminates one of the state’s most
successful and cost-effective public health strategies.

The Child Fatality Task Force brings together legislators and issue experts to develop policy solutions
to save children's lives. From infant car seats to toxic chemicals,it's estimated that new laws proposed by
the task force since its inception in 1991 have saved the lives of approximately
9,000 children.

Unfortunately,
the state House budget eliminates the Task Force! We have a narrow window of
opportunity to save the Child Fatality Task Force before a final budget is approved.Please
contact House Speaker Tillis and Senate Pro Tem Berger today (contact info at the end of this post).

Here's a sampling of the
Task Force's accomplishments:

•
29%
reduction in infant mortality through a variety of strategies, including SIDS
education, professional development and funding for direct services;

•
Large
reductions in accidental deaths in motor vehicles by implementing the graduated
license requirement and mandatory child safety seats;